People and Organisations

Clean surroundings, clean water and a clean toilet – as much as Cuttack, in Odisha is a thriving centre of trade and commerce, it lacked these three basic necessities. An exploratory survey was conducted in 2009 to understand why the city hadn't reached a better state of cleanliness.

In the 60-odd years since we began managing our own resources, we have managed to throttle and poison all our rivers, suck our groundwater resources nearly dry and shave our forests bald. This is despite a great deal of effort, time, thought and resources that have gone into this 'management'.

Despite being endowed with adequate rainfall, most parts of the Himalayas are considered water-stressed for both agricultural and domestic purposes. This is mainly due to the seasonality of precipitation, which is concentrated to the monsoon months. It remains dry for rest of the year.

Kumbh Mela left its trash behind

Numerous small villages dot the Himalayas. These villages obtain water from springs that are in their turn supplied by small aquifers. Due to the complex folded nature of the rocks that make up the mountains, the area from which these aquifers receive their water may be at some distance away from the actual spring.

Nagaland depends on surface sources such as streams, rivulets, springs and ponds, which are monsoon fed for its drinking water. However, the quantity of water in these sources has depleted across the state. This could be due to deforestation, jhum cultivation and other human intervention.

Noted activist Shashi Shekhar has been on an indefinite fast since December 10th, protesting the construction of embankments on the Jheem Jamura river. These rivers are a part of the Adhwara Samuh rivers in North Bihar, which originate from the foothills of Nepal.

For more information on the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), click here.

For further details on the event, that has the theme of 'Energy and Water', click here.

Organiser details

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Venue

Gujarat University Convention Centre, Ahmedabad

Why visit the summit

For more information on the free online course, please click here.

For further details on the course and the meeting details, click here.